‘Monday Night Football’ Suffers Lowest Early Game Numbers in over a Decade

11 Sep 2018

The NFL’s primetime numbers suffered greatly during the season opener, and on Sunday Night Football. And as the early returns from Monday Night Football start to trickle in, that trend doesn’t look like it’s changing.

According to Austin Karp — assistant managing editor at SportsBusiness Daily — the numbers for the early game were historically low:

While at first glance the difference between this year and 2017 may seem small, it is important to remember that due to the chaos from Hurricane Irma last year not all markets reported in with early numbers. So, the results for the Minnesota Vikings’ 29-19 win over the New Orleans Saints and the Denver Broncos’ 24-21 victory over the LA Chargers were based on just 48 of the usual 56 markets that make up the first round of ratings. Meaning that the ratings decline for this year might be more in line with the overall sagging response the NFL and its various broadcasters have been receiving the past couple of years.

Even worse, consider that the late game featured a major market team from Los Angeles, Jon Gruden’s return to coaching, and the fact that the game was competitive; with both teams tied at 13-13 with one minute remaining in the third quarter.

Thursday’s scrum between Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons, captured a scant 13.4/5 result in metered markets. That number represented another eight percent drop from the same week’s game during the 2017 season.

The crashing ratings drew the ire of President Donald Trump who slammed the NFL for its continued protests during the national anthem.